Ukraine war: Portsmouth lecturer reveals fear for his family in Kyiv after invasion - and anger at Russian people's 'silence'

Andrii Zharikov woke up to the news that Russia had invaded his home city of Kyiv – and left him dreading what the future may hold for his family, who still live there.

‘I had a message from my mother that war was starting and their windows were shaking from explosions,’ said Andrii, a senior lecturer at the University of Portsmouth’s law faculty.

‘These explosions were not far from where they live. I am asking them to be in touch with me every hour to let me know they are safe.’

Andrii, 30, who has been in Portsmouth since August and in the UK for six years, said that the news from Kyiv was bleak.

‘This is full scale war,’ he said, his voice trembling sometimes as he relayed what his parents had reported to him. ‘There is panic on the streets – the problem is that it is a full-scale invasion. It is looking likely that there will be street fighting – it makes me want to cry that they want to put our country back to the Stone Age. Kyiv is a beautiful city but Putin wants destroy the country.’

Andrii’s family – mum Tetyana Zharikova, dad Victor Zharikov and sister Anna-Maria Zharikova – are there for the moment. He said he would like to get Anna-Maria out but the difficulties in obtaining visas make this unlikely. His parents will need to stay to look after his 86-year-old grandmother, who Andrii says can barely walk, and intend to stay as safe as they can in their Kyiv home.

‘I’m very worried about my family and friends. My male friends are waiting for instruction from the government. They are prepared to defend their homes.’

As well as worry for his family, Andrii feels anger towards Russia. Russian is his first language, although he also speaks Ukrainian. He said: ‘I am a Ukrainian. All my life I have been free to speak in the Russian language. Now I do not think I will do it every again. I do not want to have anything to do with that country.’

He has a message to politicians: ‘I just want to say that Putin is not likely to stop at Ukraine. The Baltic bloc is also Russian speaking and if the West gives up on Ukraine, then my worry is that this could become even more disturbing. How can this be possible in a civil society?’

He thanked the UK for its support but said more was needed – more help from the UK, the USA, and the EU, especially Germany. He said: ‘It’s not only military but economic measures, and supplying basic essentials. There will be a critical shortage of petrol and other supplies. And a relaxation of the visa rules would prevent a crisis.’

He fears the wave of refugees that could be created, as Ukraine is home to 44m people and Kyiv has a population of 3m.

Andrii also had a message to the Russian people – they need to condemn the actions of their leader.

‘If you are silent then you are in support,’ he said.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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